Detroit Style Pizza

Detroit style pizza is a lesser known, oft overlooked style of everyone’s favorite dish, but I’m here to give it a shout out, because with a crunchy, golden crust, loads of cheese, and crispy, cheesy edges, it should definitely be on your radar and in your kitchen.

This post is sponsored by Cento. All opinions and recipes however are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting brands that I love and that support Jo Eats!

Pizza is universally loved, at least in my opinion. If you are a pizza hater, well I can only assume that you either have a dairy allergy or you also hate kittens and sunshine and Matt Damon. But for the rest of us, pizza is love, tradition, celebration, and comfort all wrapped up in a doughy, cheesy, saucy blanket.

Part of the beauty of this beast though is that there is a pizza for everyone. Thin crust, neapolitan style, floppy, crisp, deep dish, foldable, piled high with toppings, or beautifully demure in its simplicity – pizza is one word for a meal with endless variety.

So what’s my favorite kind of pizza? It’s honestly changed over the years. As a kid I was partial to a Dominos deep dish pie, particularly the cheese at the edges that got all brown and crispy and lacy. In my teenage years I discovered that pizza could be cut into squares, and as a fanatic of crunchy corner pieces of any sort, I was hooked. Later I moved to New York and suddenly pizza went from easy weekend meal to religious fanaticism. This is where I developed a preference for a thin and cheesy New York slice, never more than three toppings (which is honestly pushing it) and never folded.

Detroit Style Pizza

Now in my old age and wisdom these days, I’ve realized that pizza is first and foremost a delicious food that should be celebrated in all of its iterations. So today I’m partnering up again with my friends at Cento Fine Foods (you know those folks who make all those Italian goodies in the yellow cans?) to bring you a pizza you may have never even heard of before! But I’d bet money that once you sink your teeth into this crunchy, flavorful crust, taste the spicy, sweet sauce, and get a load of those crispy, cheesy, dark brown and caramelized edges, you’ll wonder how you ever missed out on this Detroit style pizza pie.

But before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s chat briefly about what Detroit Style really means. Think of a Detroit style pie like the best version of pan pizza you’ve ever had. The almost focaccia-like dough gets golden brown and crunchy on the bottom while remaining fluffy in the middle, and acts as a strong foundation for the hefty amount of cheese, sauce, and (in this case) thick sliced pepperoni that gets piled on top. It’s typically baked in a rectangular pan, which allows the crust to nearly pan fry in a pool of quality extra virgin olive oil, and makes for incredibly easy assembly.

So how is this different from a pan pizza then? Firstly the pie is built dough, cheese, toppings, and THEN sauce – I know, mind blown. This allows the crust and cheese to fuse together into one cheesy, doughy, mass that beautifully supports the toppings above. Secondly, when the sauce finally does make an appearance it gets draped across the pie in rows.  I personally love this because it means that you get a variety of textures from bite to bite and piece to piece. And thirdly (and maybe most importantly), the cheese goes all the way to edges of the pan, which means you’ll definitely want to fight for an outside piece, because who can resist a crunchy, brown, and cheesy edge?

What You’ll Need to Make Detroit Style Pizza

Like any pizza, a Detroit style pie comes down to three main components – dough, sauce, and toppings. For this recipe you’ll be making your own dough and sauce (both of which can be prepped up to a couple days ahead of time), which if you’ve never done before will be a revelation in how actually easy it can be!

For the pizza dough:

• Cento brand’s Anna Organic TIPO ’00’ Flour: This kind of finely milled flour is what pizzaioli have been using for centuries to turn out pizza dough that’s crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and beautifully flavored.
• Cento Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil: This fruity and bright extra virgin olive is pressed from organically farmed olives, contains no weird chemical additives, and gives this pizza a richness and flavor that’s beautifully nuanced.
• Yeast: I use dry instant yeast for this, as it doesn’t require proofing ahead of time, and instead can just be mixed directly into the flour.
• Honey: Yeast, even if it’s the instant variety, still needs something to feed on. Any sort of sugar will do, but I like honey both for it’s convenience (I always have it around) and subtle flavor. You can also use a little sugar though if that’s what you have handy.
• Salt: DO NOT SKIP THIS. I have on occasiona accidentally forgotten to salt my pizza dough and let me tell you, it’s not good. I use kosher salt for this recipe, but if you only have fine salt, just use half the amount called for.

For the tomato sauce:

• Cento Organic Certified San Marzano Tomatoes: These hand picked, USDA certified organic tomatoes are harvested and processed in the Sarnese Nocerino area of Italy. They have a deep tomato flavor, are minimally processed, and make excellent sauce, year round. I prefer buying my canned tomatoes whole, as the fewer steps in production they have seen, the fresher they will taste.
• Aromatics: Specifically here, we’re using those workhorses – onion and garlic. Best part though is that instead of chopping them up (which can be tedious) they’re simply grated right in.
• Tomato paste: Just a little bit of this super concentrated tomato flavor really brings the sauce to the next level. I like to purchase mine in a tube, which means that leftovers are easy to store.
• Spices: This sauce is pretty simple, but it does have a couple of bells and whistles. I like to add garlic powder for that special savory quality it lends to anything it touches, oregano for an earthy, herbal undertone, and chili flake to make things a little exciting.
• Sugar: I know, this one seems a little weird. But hear me out. Just a touch of sugar not only helps offset any chili heat, but also counteracts the natural acidity of the tomatoes, which gives you a well balanced and tasty sauce.

For the toppings:

• Mozzarella Cheese: This is clearly the MOST important of all. This Detroit style pizza needs a cheese that’s flavorful, melts well, but that won’t water log the dough. I landed on a block of whole milk, low moisture mozzarella, which you can usually find in the refrigerated cheese section of your grocery store (near the yogurt). Oh, and instead of grating (which can be a pain with a semi-soft cheese like mozz) I actually just dice it up into little cubes – much easier and melts perfectly well.
• Pepperoni: How you top your pizza is, of course, entirely up to your preference. I tried a few different versions of this (yes, we’ve been eating A LOT of pizza) and out of pepperoni, sausage, and just plain cheese, I preferred the spicy, meaty vibe of pepperoni best. But you do you, my friends. If you do in fact go the pepperoni route, don’t buy the pre-sliced stuff. Get a full stick of good quality pepperoni (with a natural casing if you can find it) and slice it yourself. That way you’ll get nice little meaty cups of pepperoni that char just slightly at the edges and remain tender in the middle.
• Pecorino Cheese: Why have one kind of cheese when you can have two? I like to finish all my pies with a light grating of either pecorino or aged parmesan cheese. I went with the pecorino here (which is an aged sheep’s milk cheese, similar to parm but a little stronger in flavor and salinity) because it really stands up to the thick crust and hearty sauce.

How to Make Detroit Style Pizza

So now that you know what you’ll need, how do you put it all together? It’s really pretty simple. I use a stand mixer for the dough, but you can also do this by hand (warning the dough is pretty sticky, just oil up your hands if you don’t have a stand mixer or just don’t want to use one). Also, detailed directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to Make the Pizza Dough:

• First mix together your flour and yeast in a large bowl. Mix the water, olive oil, and honey in a measuring cup, until the honey dissolves. Add this to the flour mixture and stir (or mix if using a stand mixer) until the dough comes together and no dry flour remains.
• Turn the mixer off and let the dough sit for about ten minutes. This allows the flour to hydrate and the gluten in the dough to start forming before we add the salt (which can slow down the gluten formation process).
• After ten minutes, turn the mixer back on, add the salt, and knead until you have a soft but sticky dough (about 3 minutes in a stand mixer, 7 or 8 by hand). It should pull away from the sides of the bowl cleanly, but still stick to the bottom. It will be very sticky to the touch.
• Transfer the dough to a well oiled 9X13 baking sheet. This is actually the pan you’ll bake the pizza in, so hurray for fewer dishes to wash! Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in a draft-free place (a cold oven is great) for two hours, or until doubled in size.

• After the dough has risen, you’ll use well oiled hands to gently push it to the edges of the pan. You want it to reach all the corners as well. If it springs back on you a lot, just let it rest for about five minutes and try again. Then cover with plastic wrap and let rise for an additional 20 minutes.

How to Make the Pizza Sauce:

• You can make this ahead of time, but you have a great window of opportunity while the dough has its inital rise.

• Start by gently sauteing one small grated onion and two cloves of grated garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the onions are soft, add the salt, spices, and tomato paste. Let this mixture cook out for about two minutes, or until the tomato paste changes in color from bright red to more of a deep, rusty color.
• Add in your drained tomatoes and sugar and using an immersion blender, blitz the whole thing until smooth. Alternatively, you can also just blend the tomatoes before adding them to the pot.
• Bring to a simmer and let cook, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes, or until thickened and reduced by one third. You should have about two cups of sauce when all is said and done. Set aside and let cool.

 

How to Assemble and Bake a Detroit Style Pizza:

• Preheat your oven to 500 degrees and set the rack at the bottom position.
• Remove the plastic wrap from your dough and if necessary coax any dough back into the corners of the pan.
• Add a generous layer of cubed, low-moisture mozzarella to the surface of the dough, making sure to take it all the way to the edges of the pan.

• Scatter pepperoni slices evenly over the cheese
• Spoon sauce in even rows, leaving some areas bare.
• Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the edges have turned a very dark brown and the cheese on top is bubbling and starting to brown slightly.
• Let rest in the pan for about five minutes. Then use a small knife to loosen the edges of the pizza and using a large, thin spatula, remove the pizza from the pan and transfer it to a cutting board.
• Slice into 12 squares and serve.

Tips for Making a Detroit Style Pizza

1. A non-stick pan is key. I used this one which works amazingly well.
2. Olive oil is also key. The olive oil is what gives the dough that amazing flavor and crunchy, golden crust, so even though it seems like a lot, trust me, it’s worth it.
3. Don’t use fresh mozzarella (the kind that comes in a ball, usually packed in water) for this. It will sog out the crust and make a mess.
4. Speaking of mozzarella, freeze yours for 15-20 minutes before dicing it into 1/4 inch cubes. Cubing the cheese is way less annoying than grating it, and giving it a little chill makes it easier to slice.
5. You can make the dough up to two days ahead of time, store it in the fridge (covered with plastic wrap) and bring it to room temperature before assembling and baking the pizza.
6. Drain your tomatoes. Canned tomatoes come in a lot of liquid, and because we want a thick and rich sauce it’s a good idea to give the tomatoes a quick drain before adding them to your pot.
7. Bake your pizza on the bottom rack of your oven. This ensures that the bottom of the crust gets the heat it needs to crisp up before the top of the pizza gets too brown.
8. When reheating leftovers I find the best way is on a sheet pan, in a 300 degree oven for about ten minutes.

What to Serve with Detroit Style Pizza

Let’s be honest, the pizza is the main event here, and it’s a beast. So keeping things on the side pretty simple and light is a great idea. I love a peppery arugula salad with some sort of zingy vinaigrette myself, but for other options take a look at these simple sides:

• Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad
• Charred Maple Soy Green Beans
• Peach and Tomato Caprese Salad
• Quinoa Tabbouleh

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